Formation Mechanism and Gas-Sensing Performance of La/ZnO Nanoplates Synthesized by a Facile Hydrothermal Method

• Published in: Journal of electronic materials 2018-05, Vol.47 (5), p.2970-2978
• Main Authors: Li, Yan, Chen, Li-Li, Lian, Xiao-Xue, Li, Jiao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetone; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Detection; Electron microscopy; Electronics and Microelectronics; Ethanol; Gas sensors; Gases; Hydrothermal crystal growth; Instrumentation; Lanthanum oxides; Materials Science; Morphology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Plates (structural members); Recovery time; Sensors; Solid State Physics; Synthesis; Wurtzite; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0361-5235; 1543-186X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11664-018-6164-2

La/ZnO nanoplates were successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the products were characterized using x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The gas-sensing properties of the as-prepared La/ZnO were also tested with a series of target gases, and a possible gas sensing mechanism was discussed. The results show that the as-prepared La/ZnO nanoparticles are mainly composde of a wurtzite ZnO and a little La 2 O 3 phase with face-centered structure, showing a uniform plate-like morphology with a thickness of about 50 nm. The La/ZnO nanoplate-based sensors display a significantly better sensing performance than pure ZnO for the detection of acetone and ethanol. The 3 mol.% La/ZnO sensor shows high sensitivity (127) to 200 ppm acetone at a low working temperature (330°C), and 120–200 ppm ethanol at 300°C. Moreover, its response and recovery time for acetone and ethanol were 3 s and 4 s, 18 s and 11 s, respectively. This work demonstrates that La/ZnO nanoplate-based sensors have potential applications as practical sensors for acetone and ethanol.